With my spars about done (all except the boom for the main sail which will come later), it's time to get back to the oars. The looms need rounding and the blades need planing and shaping. I must admit that I'm a little unsure how to best do this. I know just as sure as I'm sitting here, they will be a bit rough when done, but try I must.
I worked downstairs about 3 hours tonight and have little to show for it. I routed the sprit which gives me a basically round sprit. I could have just bought a dowel and been done with it. The plans show the sprit somewhat tapered, but I'm not too good at that. I'll settle for a straight one.
I figured I would use my jig to help round the oars. Of course, I used one earlier and it turns out there was not much more to be done with that technique. I've got to plane it down some. I gave a shot at the power planer and I may go back to it. I decided I need to get my bench plane up to speed, so I worked on it for a while.
I had bought a $10 diamond plate to try on the iron. It just doesn't seem to be flat. I'd tried the wetstones and didn't seem to be making much progress. Not much with the diamond plate either. After working on flattening it, I tried to sharpen the bevel. I used the wetstones and the honing guide. Then I tried it out on the oars. It just isn't very sharp.
I'll give it another try.
Anyway, here are my 5 spars to date. They will need some finishing, but I'm probably done all I'm going to do for right now.
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